Olympus expects losses on digital camera biz

Scandal hit firm expects camera profits to be down

Olympus has announced that it is expecting to see a profit loss in its digital camera business for the financial year ending in March.

Director and executive officer of the company Hironobu Kawamata spoke to a news conference on December 14th after Olympus made the deadline given to it by the Tokyo Stock Exchange for revealing its balance sheets.

Showing a $1.1 billion loss, problems stretching back as far as the early 1990s have been unveiled in recent months.

Strong sales

Camera sales, however, had been strong in the six months leading up to September, rising by 15% from the same period the year before, with 4.2 million units being manufactured.

Olympus announced its latest range of PEN Micro Four Thirds cameras back in July, with the E-P3 sitting at the top of the pile, joined by the smaller E-PL3 and E-PM1.

Since October it has seen its share prices fall dramatically amid scandal which has seen several members of the board either resign or lose their jobs.

Speculation is now strong that Olympus could face takeover from rival cameras and electronics firms, such as Fujifilm and Hoya. Shares in the company fell by almost 21% following December 14th's announcement. The value of Olympus shares have fallen by around 559% since October.

Former CEO Michael Woodford, the Brit who was sacked after trying to investigate the scandal hit company, has been back in Japan recently amid calls for his return by several key Olympus figures. The company has said it is open to reinstating Woodford.